


Have a Cup of Cheer

by bubblesodatea



Category: Lockwood & Co. - Jonathan Stroud
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1950s, Christmas Fluff, Drabble, F/M, hot chocolate feels, vaguely lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:08:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21944887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubblesodatea/pseuds/bubblesodatea
Summary: Lucy attends a Christmas party. It's a holly, jolly good time.For Shiro~
Relationships: Lucy Carlyle/Anthony Lockwood
Comments: 9
Kudos: 37





	Have a Cup of Cheer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CalmIsOverrated](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CalmIsOverrated/gifts).



> Merry Christmas Shiro! I hope you like your present~ I really loved your prompts, and I feel like you gave me a lot to work with, so thank you so much. 
> 
> Happy holidays everyone. Hope it's a good one!

There’s music coming from the dining room, and she’s feeling very warm—whether from the wine or the roaring fire she’s not sure, but it’s a pleasant heat nonetheless. Lucy raises her wine glass to her lips, carefully angling her sip as to avoid getting any lipstick marks on the rim. Her lips are painted fire engine red, a festive holly-berry corsage on her right wrist. 

“Lucy, love, you look beautiful,” Holly says, greeting her with a kiss on each cheek. The darker woman is dressed in raspberry hues, and a sprig of her namesake adorns her pillbox hat. Ever the perfect hostess, Holly waves to a few other partygoers before holding out a tray to Lucy. On it sit half a dozen perfectly-matching white mugs, each filled to the brim with hot chocolate. 

“I thought it would be fun to trade out the wine with something more festive,” Holly says, raising her voice slightly to be heard over the Bobby Helms record. Over the shorter woman’s shoulder, Lucy can see Florence Bonnard swaying slightly to the music. Lucy places her mostly-empty wine glass on the coffee table and accepts a mug.

The hot chocolate is frothy and warms her up inside. The chocolate is almost cloyingly rich, but the slight zing of cinnamon, and the minty bite of peppermint help it go down smoothly. Lucy’s finished almost half the mug when she feels someone’s presence behind her. There’s a  _ plop _ in her hot chocolate, and Lucy turns around to see George Cubbins holding a bowl filled with marshmallows. 

He raises an eyebrow and offers her the whole bowl. She takes a handful, and is pleasantly surprised to see that they’re clearly homemade, with uneven, fluffy white edges. Holly daintily accepts a marshmallow as well, and quickly compliments George after a taste.

“You made these yourself?” Lucy asks, enjoying the puff of sweetness that comes once she bites into it. “They’re fantastic.” 

The corners of George’s mouth quirk up, and unless it’s a trick of the light, he seems to be blushing slightly. She knows he won’t say it out loud, but he’s clearly pleased that people are enjoying his cooking. George thanks her, then turns to Holly.

“Has Flo had one yet?” he asks, gesturing to the tray of mugs. Holly shakes her head. 

“No, but I’m sure she’d love if you brought her one,” she says knowingly, dark eyes sparkling. George doesn’t wait a moment to grab one of the mugs and make his way over to the wiry blonde, bowl of marshmallows still in hand.

“Well, hot chocolate seems to be serving more than one purpose tonight,” Lucy says.

“It lacks the purpose of getting me drunk,” another voice cuts in. Quill takes the seat next to Holly, a mug in one hand, an unopened bottle of wine in the other. The ginger man is dressed in a bright green sweater, and Lucy is reminded rather abruptly of a wrapped present with a red bow on top. 

“Oh, please, Quill, it’s Christmas.” Holly sounds exasperated, like it’s not the first time she’s heard this complaint tonight. 

“Exactly,” Quill says stubbornly. “What kind of holiday is it if I can’t even drink?”

“I spent all that time making hot cocoa—”

“And it’s wonderful, and would be even more wonderful with more wine—”

Lucy tunes out the familiar sound of their squabbling, and looks past Holly’s shoulder to catch the eye of the man behind her. He’s dark-haired and dark-eyed, his jacket a bright, cheery red. He’s leaning against the bookshelf, sharply-polished shoes tapping to the rhythm of “A Holly Jolly Christmas.” 

And he smiles widely when Lucy’s eyes meet his. 

Lucy feels her face flush, and she’s sure that it’s not from the crowd of people lingering around, or the warmth of the hot chocolate, or even the wine. Holly knows so many people that Lucy’s sure she’s never met him before, but she sure wants to now.

She stands up, fluffing the dark green of her dress slightly before making her way next to him. Lucy holds out a hand. He stoops down to kiss it. 

“I don’t think I’ve had the fortune of introducing myself,” he says. His voice is smooth and smoky. “Anthony Lockwood.”

“I’m Lucy Carlyle,” she says. “Do you mind if I stay here while I wait for that tiff to be over?”

“I don’t mind at all,” Anthony says. “Quite the contrary, actually.”

Snow’s falling outside, but it’s nice and cosy indoors; music plays, the fire’s still crackling, and Quill eventually compromises and makes mulled wine. 

And when Anthony pulls her to dance, Lucy feels warmer than ever.


End file.
